The Billionaires
by aWednesdayAfternoon
Summary: Meet Katherine. She's senior partner at the top-notch New York City law firm. She and her husband have the love that everyone envies. But that's not all- she and her husband are also billionaires. When a problem rises to the surface, she's forced to realize that in some situations, money can't solve everything. Maybe Katherine will solve everything instead. AH.


The Billionaires ch1

Chapter 1

9194 words.

-xox-

Time never stops.

Each and every experience you create will be permanently etched in your story for eternity. There is no undoing. You are forever the owner of your blunders and mistakes.

These blunders cannot be repaired over time; you can be partially fixed, but your insides will never fully heal. One must come to live with their mistakes as a whole, not as a piece of their life.

After all, people come in and out of your lives, but memories last forever.

-xox-

He walked me to the clear glass door, my name embossed in an ivory all-caps font. Katherine Cullen, Senior Partner. I liked the ring to it. Katherine Marrow was alright, I'll admit, but my last name hasn't been more admired than it had now.

Or maybe it had been. Cullen signified power; it held the key to what was the most successful law firm in the city of America. Pearson Cullen. I liked the sound of that, too.

"Are you ready to go in, love?" He whispered softly in my ear. I grinned widely, and my blue eyes met his green ones in a fueled flurry.

"Well, Mr. Cullen, perhaps you could determine that information for me." His nose skimmed my neck, and goosebumps covered my body as I shivered.

"Is that so?" I giggled softly, feeling high on the air of power. I would be the thirtieth senior partner at the firm, and I couldn't hold back my excitement any longer. I tugged on his sleeve, and my knees bent, as I almost wobbled in my black stilettos.

My lips mashed together as I punched the air towards the ground, my eyes weakening. "Oh, just open it!"

The walls were a pale blue-grey, like the inside circle of my eyes. Heavy molding edged the walls, and beadboard ran parallel to the detailing. A row of pure glass windows went across the entire west wall. My desk was made of a grey painted wood, and was outlined in cast silver. My MacBook Air sat proudly in the middle, and a black wire file bin sat to the side on the left. On the right, a black wire cup held the firms pens. I ran my hand across the surface of the desk eagerly. It was smooth and crisp, exactly my style. Two identical white leather spiral chairs sat in front of it, and another sat at my place. There was a sitting area, with an ivory tweed fabric couch and two grey side tables in the same material as my desk. Two chairs in the same fabric sat across, with a glass table in the middle.

"Oh, Edward," I breathed softly. "You've outdone yourself!" I threw my arms around him tightly, embracing him. I could almost feel his glorious smile as his arm wound around me in an agreement.

"I'm not even done yet, love." I turned to him, a look of disbelief outlining the smile on his beautiful face. "Close your eyes, and open your hand." I did as he asked and opened my perfectly manicured hand to his. His hands almost caressed them as he placed a heavy, small and dense object into my palm. "Open." He whispered.

My lashes fluttered open and I gasped. It was a 24k solid band encroached with diamonds, and in the middle, a crimson garnet stood, shining. On the back, engraved into the gold said the words I had longed to hear for so long, "Senior Partner," in all caps. My mouth remained open, as my eyes relieved from their shocked state. A small sob emanated from the back of my throat. I threw my arms around him once again; this time the grip stronger than before. It was too beautiful for me to bear.

"Congratulations, love." He whispered softly, squeezing my hand. I held it out for him, and he slowly slid it on my middle finger. Rings were a big thing for us. My ring finger had three of them, to be exact. One was a pure gold band aligned with diamonds; a promise ring. The one in the middle was my favorite- now second- for it was my engagement ring. 24k gold, with a diamond on either side of a deep green emerald, the same color of Edward's eyes. The last one was our wedding ring, which we both wore. A simple golden band engraved with the date of our marriage on one side and the other's initials of the other side. Mine had "EAMC" and his had "KJC". Katherine Juliette Cullen.

"Am I interrupting anything?" A clear, male voice emanated from in front of me. I looked up at the door. My mouth dropped, and I smiled widely.

"Harvey!" Edward chuckled softly. He knew how close we were. We thought almost the exactly same way, and even though I had never been his associate, many had been confused that I was.

We hugged for a few moments, and then he stepped back, holding me at arms length. "You look nice." I blushed softly, for I had been trying to look my best for today. I had on my favorite dress, a black Gucci number with lace 3-quarter sleeves, and black Louboutins. The outfit was amazing, and most of all, familiar.

On our honeymoon, Edward and I were both dressed in black, he wore a black dress shirt, a grey tie, and the pants from his suit. I wore the outfit I wore today, and I could tell that Edward had remembered that, for his eyes had been glued to me since that Friday morning.

"Thank you." Harvey ruffled my hair, and I shrieked and jumped back. He laughed out loud, knowing how much I hated that gesture. Edward caught me, for he simply knew me, and knew I'd fall in my shoes. I smiled gratefully.

"You're one of us, now, Kath." Harvey said. I shook my head. "It doesn't feel real."

Edward put his hand on my shoulder. "It doesn't need to. This is where you're meant to be, sweetheart." I blushed again at this. Sure, I'd gone to Harvard, and graduated 7th in my class, but I never had expected to get this far.

"Edward, is it alright if I take your wife out to lunch?" Harvey drawled sarcastically. He hated the fact Edward was in a higher position than him, and had only been here for perhaps a quarter of the time. My husband was managing partner, and he knew it.

"I'd have to clear it with myself, so I'll get back to you on that." I laughed out loud, and Edward smirked towards me. "Alright, fine, but the boss said I have to come with."

I gave him a fake smile. "And who's the boss in this situation?" His eyes were suddenly serious.

"Me." We kissed then, tenderly, perhaps what we had wanted to do before Harvey had interrupted. There was a throat clearing, and I looked up to see that he was still there.

"Oh. Um, sorry Harvey." I replied nervously. Edward chuckled lightly. I knew that there was a slight tension in them, not only job-wise, but from me. Harvey had assumed that I was his sibling, and had openly flirted with me until Edward caught him. That hadn't gone too well. Harvey was tall, but Edward easily had two inches and 10 pounds on him. He took his easily, and Jessica had almost fired both of them on the spot.

{flashback}

It had been the end of a long day, and it was at least 8pm. I was about to ring Edward over when a light tapping on my desk startled me. I put the phone down, and looked up.

"Harvey." I said softly. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be out with Donna?" He gave me a knowing look.

"No," he said, as though it was obvious, which it was not. "I came here," be paused and gestured his hand to me, "To see you." I gave him a pitied look.

"Harvey, I already told you, I'm not interested." He gave me a look. "I'm serious. Harvey, I'm married."

"And you kept your maiden name? I don't think so." He came around my desk, sat down, and held my chin up with two fingers. "You just don't want to admit that you like me, too." I shook my head, to which he laughed.

"Harvey, seriously, I'm-" the sound of footsteps made me sigh. Maybe he wouldn't do this in front of someone else. But it was the face that relieved me the most. My husband's.

"Harvey, just what do you think you're doing on Katherine's desk?" Edward demanded. Harvey scoffed.

"You're swooping in as Superman, Ed?" Edward's face contorted into extreme anger. I knew this was a one-way road. I got up to try and calm him down. Harvey's hand stopped me. "It's cool, Kath. I can handle your brother." My mouth dropped open. That was where that idea came from- why he didn't believe I was married.

"Brother?" Edward asked in a normal tone. Harvey nodded, as though it was obvious. "_Brother_?" Edward yelled then. Harvey looked taken aback.

"This," Edward exclaimed, pointed at me, "Is my wife!" Harvey's mouth dropped wide open. Edward's glare deepened, and Harvey out his hands up.

"You think I tried to flirt with your wife? You're overreacting, Edward, and I don't appreciate it." Edward's eyes narrowed at this, and for the first time in my time at Pearson Hardman, I saw Harvey look scared.

"You asshole- flirting with my wife, and then acting as though I'm not your boss?" He screamed then. "'I don't appreciate it?' Well, I don't appreciate you insulting her! She obviously didn't return the affections, and yet if I hadn't intervened, you would have forced yourself upon her!"

"Get your goddamn head out of your ass, Edward! I never went further that what you've seen!" Harvey yelled, and almost reprimanded.

"And you take pride in that?" Harvey's face went into shock. And with that, Edward backed him up against the wall and punched him in the face, hard. I gasped.

"Edward, calm down!" I yelled, and finally got up and went in between them. "Jessica!" I yelled, and they both went into shock, as they looked at me.

"I had to break you two up," I explained. "And you better not rat eachother out." I said angrily. "You'll both be fired for romance in the office. And I'll be gone, too." Harvey opened his mouth, but I shut him up with a glare.

Jessica walked in, then, and her presence almost immediately sobered their behavior. "Is there a problem, Katherine?" I shook my head.

"No, but there was. We cleared it all up, but I felt like your presence would end it altogether." She smiled, knowingly. I mouthed, 'Thank you' towards her, gratefully. She closed the door to my office, and Harvey followed suit, not daring to try and reason with me. I grabbed my bag and began packing up my things.

Edward took a couple of deep breaths, and stepped towards me, his face full of remorse. "What have I done?" He said, his voice pained. He ran his hands through his hair, anxiously.

I sighed, and turned my gaze on him fully. He looked so worried, but I don't think it was really about him- he was worried about me. Eventually, Jessica would ask someone what happened- whether it was Harvey, himself, or even me.

"Edward, it's fine. Yes, you overreacted, but-"

"That's the thing!" He cried, exasperated. "I never want you to have to see me like that, and I shouldn't have punched him, I just... He was taking advantage of you, and I-" I interrupted him this time.

"You know he was never close." I chided him gently. "But if you hadn't shown up, who knows?" He closed his eyes, trying to block the incident out. When he opened his eyes, they were still angry and upset, but mostly filled with love. He crossed the couple of bounds it took to get to me.

I initiated the embrace fully, but I feel that we almost both did. He held me for a few moments before stepping back and holding me from arms length. "Are you sure you're alright?" I laughed softly.

"Yes, Edward," I replied in a sing-song voice, "I'm perfectly fine."

Harvey and I didn't speak for weeks, and even after, when we did, he never went against my wishes. He stayed his distance, and I stayed mine. We became friends again, but it never went further than that.

{end flashback}

Harvey still had a mark right above his left eyebrow from when Edward's wedding ring had collided with his forehead.

There was a knock on the glass door, bringing me back to my senses. "Come in," I called out. I almost laughed out loud when I saw who walked in. Jessica smiled faintly when she saw me.

"Katherine, I see you've made yourself at home." I blushed, obliviously. "Harvey, there's a pro-bono case in your office, when you feel like getting to it in the next hour." Harvey gave her a look, and she simply glared back. He left the office, sighing.

"Edward, Katherine, what are you doing at 12:30?" My gaze turned to Edward.

"I was going to take Katherine out to lunch, but if you need us we can-" Jessica waved her hands.

"There's already reservations for five at La Grenouille, but if you were going to cancel..." Edward's eyes met mine.

"Who's the other two?" I was genuinely curious. Jessica smirked. I knew who was invited before she even opened her mouth.

"Harvey and Mike?" I guessed. She nodded, carefully.

"Is there a problem?" We never openly discussed the event between Harvey and I, especially around Edward. It wasn't that he was the jealous type- no, he was simply outraged that Harvey would jump to such conclusions.

"No, Jess, we're fine." Edward assured her. Something tugged at his eyes, a bit of a lie, a bit of unprocessed anger, and he knew that I saw it. That fight lingered inside him, and I knew that he wasn't going to cool down anytime soon- if anything, he was going to fuel up.

"That's good. I'll see you at 12 in the lobby. My driver has been arranged to pick us up in the front exit." She then handed me a file. "Your first assignment as a senior partner. I'm sure that you'll take an interest in this one." I took the folder in my hands gently, as I did with each and every one.

The file was dated recently; two or three weeks ago. I scanned the paper quickly with careful eyes.  
A woman named Lauren Balmer was filing a suit against Tailsom Inc., an electronic installation company. They were installing a new heating system in a complex she owned, and something had caused a fuse to break, and a spark to burst, initiating a fire on the first three floors.

I smiled smugly. This was exactly the kind of case that I was good at. "When will I be meeting Lauren?"

Jessica pointed to a post it note sticking out from the middle of the pages of files. "Ah, there it is." Edward pulled it out from underneath, and we sat down on the couch together. Jessica smiled at us, oblivious to how deeply we were in love with each other.

It was the little things- sitting down at the same time, walking in the same stride, saying the same thing at the same time, laughing at the same moments, knowing exactly when the other one needed the other, even when we were offices apart. We were in tune with each other more than ourselves.

"I'll leave you two alone." She said softly. The door closed without a sound, and amiss the quiet, I realized how lucky I was to had come as far as I had.

-xox-

We had figured out a way to approach the case within the hour. That was the thing with working with Edward; he was fast on his feet, and he could solve anything, anywhere. Yes, so was I, but he did it in a different way, and was able to come from every side and see the difficulties, the challenges, and the solutions.

"Well, I think we're done here." He said matter-of-factly, and stood up. "If I dive further into Lauren Balmer's life any further, I might be classified as a stalker." I laughed at his dry humor, and I stood up with him, stretching down to relax my stiff muscles. Edward slowly massaged my shoulders, and I tried hard not to marvel at the fact that he knew exactly where I needed it the most.

"I believe we're needed downstairs, now, love." He whispered in my left ear, as I stretched up and turned around to meet his eyes. They were a shade darker than usual, and so I tapped his nose to release the tension on both of us.

"Thank," I kissed his cheek, "You" I kissed his nose, "For the reminder." I kissed his lips then, and while we might have broken off in ten seconds, it felt like it lasted for eternity. We broke off, breathless. I saw his crooked smile appear.

"Let's get ready. We have two minutes." I reminded myself, more than him. He grabbed my bag for me, and we headed out the door. The fall air was just so that you could get by without a jacket to cover you up. I loved September for this very reason.

I went into the door marked "W", for women. "I'll be right out!" I called to Edward, and hoped that he had heard me.

Once I stepped into the bathroom, I went into full-blown-beauty mode. I brushed down my hair lightly, placed a little foundation on my naturally pink cheeks, and reapplied lipstick. I then slipped on my sunglasses to avoid extensive exposure to paparazzi. Pearson Cullen was a big company, and the wife of the Cullen of Pearson Cullen was now a senior partner. This was a headline hitter, even more than I anticipated.

I came out to see Edward had done merely the same. He had smoothed down his naturally unruly hair, and wore the male version of the sunglasses I wore. Prada, with onyx frames.

He held out his hand, and I took it as we stepped into the lobby area. "Jessica is downstairs waiting for you." One of the secretaries called out. I pressed the down arrow button, and the elevator met us within an instant.

-xox-

My heels clicked against the white marble flooring of the lobby. Jessica caught my eye and gave a slight wave. We followed suit, and I made out two figures; they were most likely Harvey and Mike. They all stepped into the black car, except for Mike. He waited for us, and held the door open for me.

"A gentlemen, aren't you?" He laughed. We weren't ever that close, Mike and I, and it was mostly because of the fact that I was younger than him and got higher than he had in two easy years. Perhaps that was because I had entered the firm as a partner.

We stepped into the shiny Mercedes, and slid down the leather seats. I had been oblivious to the fact that this was a limo, and it was a beautiful model.

"Jessica, you've truly outdone yourself." I heard myself saying, half unconscious to the fact that I was speaking out loud. It was only confirmed that I was when she answered me.

"I had to make room for everyone that you wanted to invite, Katherine." I laughed in my head at that statement. "What did you expect me to do?"

"To steal a cop car and to drive us around at top speed like idiots?" Mike replied.

"To have Ray chauffeur us to the restaurant?" Harvey offered dryly. It was clear that he had offered that and Jessica had declined.

"To take a normal car?!" I almost yelled. They all laughed at my apparently hysterical reaction. "Well, I'm glad I'm so amusing to you all."

Mike smiled wryly. "It's just your inability to accept certain things. You can own ten Hermes bags but when it comes to a limo, you'll automatically refuse." He stated. I blushed at this, because it was too true.

Edward squeezed my shoulder. "Hey, now, no more fun at her expense. This is her celebration, after all." He reminded Mike, almost as though he was scolding a child. I tried not to laugh at the thought. In all honesty, Mike was a year younger than Edward. Edward was simply old-fashioned and very studious, which made him simply appear more mature. He didn't look older than 30, but his aura would simply suggest that Mike was 10 years younger.

Whenever we had college clients, we sent him for he looked the youngest. When he asked why he kept walking in and out of NYU, I reminded Edward of a very important file that needed to be reviewed and made a run for it.

"I'm so sorry, Katherine. That was out of line. Try not to have your husband fire me, will you?" I scoffed, and rolled my eyes.

"You wish."

Harvey smirked. "Turn the radio on, driver, will you?" And then muttered on about how Ray knew exactly what station he liked and when to switch. I suppressed a chuckle, and everyone laughed, probably on how much I looked like Edward at that very moment.

"This is 106.1; Connecticut's biggest hits." A voice came over the radio. The speakers weren't horrible, but I had to strain to hear it, even with my amazing ear.

"Turn the volume up, if you will?" I asked, slightly annoyed.

"Of course, ma'am." Now, normally, this request would be followed with a thank you. In fact, I was never as impolite as to forget my manners.

It was only the song that the station chose to play. The all-too-familiar piano riff; the one I had spent a full 15 years trying to avoid. My eyes bored out and glazed over; my face turned hard. My head stopped being able to function. It was almost as though time had stopped. My pupils dilated, and as I struggled to get a grasp on what was real, my mind was only able to form one coherent thought. The song's name.

Kiss Me Slowly.

My eyes blacked out, but I was still conscious. Voices emanated from the background. My bones locked from my only attempt to move. He was all around me. His presence, his breath, the alcohol, the bright lights... Nothing was real anymore.

"This isn't the first incident." Someone said. It was distinct, manly and musical.

"So, you mean, she's gone insane before?" Another, much younger, boyish voice replied.

The musical voice growled.

"_Don't_ talk about my wife like that." He almost yelled. Who was he? Who was his wife, and was she okay? I struggled to comprehend anything that happened.

"Katherine? Are you all right?" That was my name, but who was calling me? Someone older than me, but a woman, yes definitely. I tried to respond, but my breath only came in heavy pants.

"Katherine? Katherine? Katherine?" A chorus of people spoke my name as though it was an omen. I was too confused to speak, to try to understand. The musical voice was back, and it sighed.

"Stop!" He cried out finally. "You're making it worse."

"Katie, open your eyes." The musical voice commanded. My eyes flashed open. There were only two people that called me by that since eighth grade. I looked over the image of the man in front of me, and I came to a conclusion. The musical voice had been Edward.

JPOV

When I saw Katherine, I could have had a panic attack myself. I had known her as someone strong and stable. Her eyes had become entirely black, her face pale, and her body motionless. It was likely she had stopped breathing. She looked almost deadly then, as though she would destroy someone or something- but something wasn't quite right about her posture. Occasionally, a twitch or shift would break her motionless state. She wanted to move, but her body had locked her down.

When Edward spoke, it all seemed to come into place.

"She's fine. It's the song." Immediately, confusion and then understanding flashed across Katherine's face. What about the song? I had heard it before, yes, but it wasn't as though it had been in a scary movie.

Her entire body suddenly shifted. Her shoulders soldered themselves and her facial expression returned neutral. She could have passed for normal, if it weren't for the vacant in her eyes. She smiled apologetically.

"I'm sorry for that. The song brings back bad memories, and I was already lost in my own little world. I'm fine now." She assured us. I had the sense in me to change the topic immediately. She obviously would relax in a few moments. It was unlike her to have an outburst, but then again, I only knew her for two years.

"We're here." I stated, a fake smile forming over my lips. The door opened, and we stepped out and walked into the restaurant.

KPOV

"Five, under Pearson, please." Jessica instructed the hostess. A woman my height in a tight blue dress smiled.

"Right this way, ma'am." She said in what must have been an attempt at a sultry voice. It wasn't clear who it was directed to, but it didn't seem to matter. We all cringed at her stupid attempt. She huffed, and pointed at the table and dropped the menus on the table, wanting to rush away from this table as quickly as possible.

Deep conversation seemed to evade us, and we were trapped in the state of small talk.

"How was the pro-bono case, Harv?" Mike offered to the table.

"Don't call me Harv," Harvey warned Mike, "And it looks like something that would be perfect for you to handle." Mike groaned from across the table.

"And you don't have time to do this yourself?" Jessica asked Harvey, feigning a shocked expression.

"I think it's simply that he doesn't care about anyone else's feelings." Edward replied dryly. I laughed softly, keeping to myself in my own little bubble. As soon as everyone noticed me once again, I immediately quieted and channeled my grade-school self. Quiet. Thoughtful. Studious.

Katherine was strong and self-inspired, but Katherine had broken her nearly perfect resolve in public. That was not allowed. I considered this my own punishment. I would not allow myself to initiate in conversation further than small talk.

While Jessica and Harvey laughed over some joke they had developed over the years, Edward turned his attention fully towards me. "Are you alright?" My eyes closed, and I sighed, not ready for this conversation. "Love, so you had an incident. You've only had six in your life. You've been very careful. Jessica will not treat you any differently if she knows that-"

"That I'm damaged? That I'm beyond help? I highly doubt it, Edward. The reason she loves you is because you're so well put together. You rarely lose your temper. You've brought so much money to the firm, and what have I done? I'm nothing but the thing she has to keep around to make you stay."

"Love, that's not true - I lose my temper at least once a day. And I count on you fully for at least half of my cases." Edward argued.

"It doesn't matter. At this point, she'll find some way to get rid of me."

"I know what Justi-"

"_Don't_ say his name, Edward. Unless you want another episode in this restaurant."

"Fine, then. What J- no, he did might have damaged you. No, I'm sure it did. You were scared to live your life, scared to love anyone. I was there, Katherine. I've known you from High School and loved you ever since. You know that." Edward argued.

"And we won't talk about him. He's over. He tried to... you know..." I cringed. "Can we stop talking about it now?" I almost begged. Thankfully, the waitress arrived at that very moment.

"Welcome to La Grenouille; my name is Jenelle, and I'll be your server today. Can I get you anything to drink?" Edward and Harvey shared a glance.

"Four champagnes, and one- what would you like, love?"

"A red wine, please." The waitress scurried away.

"Why are you skimping out?" Mike asked, aggravated. I rolled my eyes.

"I wanted to spend my celebration day enjoying what I drink. Pity, isn't it?" I shrugged, giving the table a 'what can you do?' look. Laughter emanated from everyone- even Jessica gave a snicker, which was rare even for her. They knew I was fully back, and they also knew not to press.

The waitress returned with our drinks. Jessica took this as an opportunity.

"To Katherine, our most successful senior partner at Pearson Cullen." She toasted. We rose our glasses. I loved the feeling of being the only one different. Four glasses of simple champagne, and I was the one that stood out. Something I only enjoyed every so often.

"To Katherine!" They all chanted. I blushed feverishly, and Edward leaned in to kiss my cheek and whispered, "More later." To which I giggled like a schoolgirl.

We ordered our meals and avoided any remembrance of the car ride in the conversation. I discussed my case with the table, as Edward held my right hand underneath the table. He squeezed it occasionally as he felt an aftershock of the incident coming back up to haunt me.

"Donna said there was a new male associate joining Pearson." Harvey stated.

"Cullen." My husband finished, a small smile aligning his lips. Harvey rolled his eyes, and Mike bit down on his lip to stop himself from laughing.

"You obviously didn't hire him," I addressed Edward directly, "so it had to have been Jessica."

"What's his name?" Mike asked eagerly. Jessica shook her head sadly, and smiled. I smirked.

"He's asked us to call him Jay. He's starting at one, and he'll be making his rounds, but I suggest that Harvey and Katherine meet him first." My eyes snapped to Harvey's, and he raised his eyebrows in almost a warning.

"If I like him, he's mine." I barked a laugh.

"You wish. You already have two associates, and Mike counts as six on his own."

"See?" Mike asked the table. "I'm talented." I tapped his hand, and gave him a motherly smile.

"How is it that I'm a year younger than you and yet I'm already the most mature?"

"Boy's mature slower than girls, page 175 of-" Mike got interrupted before he could finish.

"Thanks, Wikipedia, we're good without all of the facts." Harvey said dryly. Edward sighed, and shook his head. I knew that silently in his head, he was figuring out which book it was from. The rest of the table smiled, knowing about the challenge Edward always gave himself.

There was an awkward silence, before Jessica declared, "We should get going."

I nodded, and Edward and I stood up at the same time, saying in unison. "We should." The rest of the table chuckled- it wasn't something we tried to do, of course, but Edward and I simply were too alike. I put my hand in his, and rubbed my thumb along the thin metal line of his wedding ring. He looked at me then, and squeezed my hand for a couple of seconds, saying silently that he loved me.

We payed the bill on the spot and told the restaurant to keep the change. The car was waiting for us outside.

This time, Harvey didn't ask the driver to turn the radio on.

-xox-

"It's 1:15; I have to go meet the new associate." Jessica said to me as she hung up her jacket on the coat rack. I smiled at her.

"I can't wait to meet him. Perhaps I can skip the entire hiring session." Jessica shrugged, and then put both of her hands on my shoulders.

"Edward told me how you felt in the restaurant." My eyes bulged open, and I gasped in a breath. Fury exhumed me- that was a secret! "He had no right to say that sort of thing."

"You know, he only told me because he knew it wasn't true." My eyes snapped up to meet hers. "I value you just as much as Harvey at this firm. Maybe even more. You work with Edward too well. You could leave us and start your own firm, and we'd have serious competition. You know that." I looked down.

"You just keep me around for his sake. You know that if you fire me he quits, and you need his money to run this firm." I said then, squaring my shoulders.

"No, I keep you around to keep Harvey in line and to access more clients." She told me then, honestly. "Yes, I would never be permitted to fire you, but why would I want to? You have a perfect SAT score, you graduated from Harvard, you're an expert at reading people, you're the perfect package. Every other firm in the city envies us once again, because of the Cullen's."

I couldn't deny that she was right. I sucked in a large breath. "You know that I'm not normally like that, Jessica. I am very controlled, I-" She laughed, then.

"Now that I think about it, it was refreshing to see some emotion in there, Kath." I laughed, then, nervously. "I was starting to think you were never in pain. That you were always euphoric." I shook my head.

"I guess that's just the show I put on for people." Jessica sighed then.

"Tell you what. " She said suddenly. "To show you how much you mean to me, why don't you pick who you want to meet the new associate with." I thought about it for a few seconds.

Not Louis, he could come off as an asshole 99% of the time, and besides, they would meet anyways. Harvey already had two associates, he didn't need another. Maybe Donna? No, she'd be busy with Harvey and would relay everything that happened back to him. Tara? No, she wasn't good for decisions. There was only one person who could come with me on this.

"Edward, then." I said to Jessica. She smirked. She knew I'd chose him. "What? He's helpful." She leaned into my ear.

"In more ways than one." I gaped at her, and pulled back.

"_Jessica_!" She grinned widely.

"Is there something wrong, my love?" My head whipped around. I almost laughed at his perfect timing. Jessica stifled a laugh.

"Edward, would you like to go with me to meet the new associate?" I asked semi-genuinely in a sing-song voice. He chuckled softly.

"It would be my pleasure, madam." He replied in a perfect rendition of an English accent. I rolled my eyes. "I could be British if I wanted to be- admit it." I shook my head.

"I think I'm definitely more British than you, mister." I replied in my own, less perfected accent. Jessica gave us confused looks, and with a shake of her head said, "You two are insane."

Edward flashed her a toothy smile. "You can't fire us, Jess!" She gave him a look that said, 'Boy, I wish I could!' As soon as she left and closed the door to her office, we burst out laughing. This is what I loved about Edward- he knew exactly when to make a joke and when to be serious. He could be 30 and still be like the jokester I met in 8th grade.

"Well, how about that new associate? Shall we meet him?" I shrugged, nonchalant.

"I suppose. Nothing special or great about that. It's not like I can get out of meeting a thousand boys who want to be my associate or anything." Edward gave me a pointed look. "What? So I want to get out of it- big deal!"

"Let's go meet your lover, shall we?" My eyes bulged out, and he laughed gloriously.

"Not funny." I grumbled, as I took a quick brush to my hair. He put his hand on my shoulder. "Seriously. I don't like making choices. That's all it is." He gasped over dramatically.

"And you're a lawyer?" His face was a perfect mask of shock. I glared at him then. "It's true, Katherine... if you can't make decisions properly, I may have to revoke your status as sein-" I slapped a hand over his mouth and squealed.

"You wouldn't fucking dare." I challenged him, then. He smirked at me, and I looked down as I pretended that I knew he would.

"Hey." He said softly, and my gaze went to him. "It'll be fine. Hopefully this man will be equipped enough to deserve you." I know I've been making a joke out of it, but in all honesty, it's just because... Well..." He paused, and swallowed audibly. I looked into his nervous and guilt-filled eyes.

"What is is, love?" I asked him softly, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"I'll simply miss working with you. I don't want someone else taking my place... that's all." I rolled my eyes, and smiled.

"Edward, you _know_ that wouldn't happen." I said nervously. Was he scared I would replace him?

"A man can dream." He replied sadly. I shook my head then.

"I'm not going to trade in my husband for a "just-out-of-law school badboy." At least... Not yet." His eyes widened. "Who knows, I might want to play Mrs. Robinson someday." His expression was priceless.

"I'm kidding! God!" He gave me an uncertain smile. "You would have to literally solder me off of you in order for me to leave. I'm not giving you up willingly." His all-too-familiar crooked smile entered his face.

"Now that that's cleared up, shall we go meet the newest associate?" I leaped up gracefully, holding my hand out to his. He took it without hesitation.

"That sounds like a wonderful idea." I replied. We walked, hand-in-hand, without a care in the world.

-xox-

As Edward closed the door to my new office, I shut my eyes for a brief second and marveled at how perfect my life was at this very second.

"Tara, I'll be back in a bit. Can you get my files on my desk copied sixteen times? Thank you." She smiled and scurried away.

"I suppose it's time to meet our future associate." I said cheerily.

"Your future associate." Edward clarified.

"My future associate." I replied, smirking at his annoyed face. Edward wasn't phased. We walked down to the section where the associates worked. "Come on, now. He can't be all that bad." I pleaded softly.

Edward looked ahead. "Well, he looks decent." I shut my eyes.

"Tell me what he looks like- I want to know what to expect." Edward chuckled. "What?"

"Nothing love." He muttered. "He has dark brown hair, in curls, much like Emmett as a teenager. dark brown eyes, thin frame, and 6 feet..." He sounded more and more discouraged as he spoke. Was he... No! He couldn't be- could he?

"Edward, you're 6'3, Stop with the jealousy." He gave me a pitiful look.

"You think I'm jealous?" I gave him a look. "Well, there's no competition anyhow. My ring is on your finger-"

"Yes, Edward, all four of them." I could almost see him grimace in defeat. "Now will you please calm down and let me open my eyes?"

He sighed, and I knew that it was a plural for 'yes'. My eyes fluttered open, to see an attractive young man standing at a virtually empty cubical. Edward and I made our way towards him.

"Jay," I said a little harsher than I meant to. "Welcome to Pearson Cullen." He looked up at me, and his face lit up like a Christmas tree.

"You must be Katherine!" I gave him a closed-mouth smile. "Jessica has told me so much about you, but she didn't tell me you were so young. You're looking for a new associate?" I nodded appreciatively.

"Yes, as of today, I am." He brought out his hand to shake mine. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Jay..."

"Barron. Jay Barron."

He gave a solid handshake, but I couldn't focus on that. That was the last name of HIM.

"That's funny," I said, a fake smile plastered on my face. "That last name is very familiar with me. Do you happen to be related to anyone with the name "Justin"?

Jay smiled sadly, almost as if he was remembering past memories. "Yeah, I know Justin. He's my cousin. Haven't seen him in a few years, though. Word has it he's in the hospital. Brain tumor or something, I never really cared for him anyways. Did you know him?"

My mind screamed the answer, and I bit my tongue from screaming yes.

"Oh, that's too bad. We both went together to his high school." Edward intervened. Jay looked at me, his eyes watching suspiciously.

"Together?" Jay inquired. I bit down on my lip, encouraging myself not to put my foot in my mouth.

"Oh, I get it..." Jay muttered. "You're the Cullen siblings, aren't you?" Edward and I stifled a laugh. "What? I can't be the first to guess. How else would you have gone to the same high school?"

I looked at Edward cautiously. He nodded. "Um, Jay? We're married, not blood-related." Jay's eyes widened, as he blushed furiously.

"Oh god, my apologies, Katherine, I didn't mean it in that-" I put my hand up to signal for him to stop.

"You're not the first to jump to that conclusion, Jay. No worries." I side stepped, and gestured towards my husband. "This is Edward Cullen, Jessica's other half."

Jay stuck out his hand. "It's good to meet you, sir. I look forward to working with your wife, if she accepts my offer." Edward shook his hand firmly, and smiled at me.

"I'll get back to you tomorrow, Jay, but I can tell you that I'm leaning towards yes." His smile again lit up the room. He reminded me of Emmett in that way. Jay seemed to always be happy, even for the first few minutes I had met him.

"I can't wait." He replied. "Katherine, are there any more partners I'm going to meet?" I nodded.

"You'll be meeting Harvey Specter, and his associates, Mike Ross and Katrina Bennett. Don't take any of his crap- he doesn't need an associate more than I do." I said coyly, with a half-smile. I easily dazzled him, and he nodded quickly.

"Of course, Katherine. No worries." Edward chuckled at how easy he was. I elbowed him in the ribs, and smiled widely at Jay. I had a good feeling about him, and my feelings were almost never wrong.

I waved my hand once, and Edward and I left the associates cubicle.

"What did you think of him?"

"He seems decent." Edward grumbled. "But are you sure you need an associate? There are plenty of cases that we've solved by ourselves-"

"But who's doing the paperwork? And who's doing the researching? I'd like to have a break, Edward. You never do any of the physical work. It's always me, me, me. Tara only copies papers. I have to take the time to read each and every one over. It's a shitty job, and I'm sick of doing something that isn't even my job." He turned to look at me, eyes tired.

"Fine, have it your way. Hire him." He muttered, spinning on his heel and walking down the long hallway.

"Edward, what-" A look of shock flew across my face as his hands went up. He didn't turn back to look at me; he simply kept walking.

My heart clenched painfully as he left me. I closed my eyes, relaxing my posture. I turned around the other way, towards my office.

When I shut the glass door, I headed for my desk. I reached for my left, and slid the garnet ring off of my third finger. I felt the sick feeling in the pit of my stomach worsen, and I sat down at my desk, head in my hands.

-xox-

"Katherine?" A voice asked in disbelief. My melancholy expression focused on the door in front of my office.

Louis was here.

"What do you want, Louis?" I grumbled, looking down at my desk. I heard his squeaky footsteps come closer to my desk. "Whatever it is, the answer is no. I'm not in the mood, you got that?"

"Katherine, can I talk to you?" I glared at him icily. "Katherine, please?"

"Fine," I snapped. "But my husband will fire your scrawny ass if you say something fucked up, so try not to put your foot in your mouth."

"That's what I want to talk to you about, Katherine... Your husband." My eyes tightened, and I looked at the dark red ring lying on my desk.

"Yes, what about him?"

"Listen, Kath. I think you know that I don't like you, or your husband, but when Edward gets angry, he's worse than Harvey. And when I asked if I should go get you to calm him down, he threw a stapler at me and screamed at me to get out of his office."

I gasped. I'd seen Edward get furious before, but it was only on rare occasions that he'd go as far as to throw something at Louis.

"That doesn't sound like Edward," I replied warily. "And then what?"

"I went to Jessica, hoping he could talk some sense into him, but when she came into his office, he was sobbing."

My eyes bulged out.

"Katherine, I've known Edward for four years. Not once have I ever seen him shed a tear, forget sobbing."

"Oh god..." I murmured. "Louis," I said, grabbing him by the shoulders. "Where is he?"

"In his office, Katherine-"

"Thank you, Louis."

I ran across the 56th floor as fast as I could. Several people tried to slow me down, but I pushed them aside. I found myself at Edward's office, but I was blocked by his secretary.

"Mr. Cullen doesn't want any visitors, Miss." She mocked, drawing out the last part of the sentence.

"Fuck you, Lucinda." I muttered, and pushed her aside as I swung the door open.

There he was, sitting on his black leather couch, head in his hands.

"Oh, Edward..." I trailed off.

"Katie?" He said softly.

"Right here?"

"Katherine?" He snarled then, getting up suddenly. "Why the hell are you in my goddamn office?"

"Because I care about you, you ass! Louis came over, scared out of his mind because of you. What was I supposed to do? To ignore him and walk off?"

"That's what you did a few hours ago; you could have just as easily done it again." His commentary stung, and I winced.

"Edward, I have no fucking clue what I did to make you like this, but-"

"Are you that thick-headed? You're telling me you have NO idea what you could of done?"

"Excuse me, but you're the one who's acting like an asshole right now! All I ever did was attempt to warm up to my new associate!"

"Stop making a scene, Katherine." Edward hissed quietly. "That's not why I'm pissed off."

"Then why are you being so infuriating?"

"Don't you understand? Somehow, Jay and Justin will find a way to get to you!"

"Edward,"

"They're putting you on a one-road track to self suicide, and honestly-"

"Edward,"

"I can't have that despicable thing get close to you again! What if he is going to hurt you again, or-"

"Edward!"

"He could kill you, with a push of a button, with a flick of his wrist, and how would I live with myself then-"

"_Edward_!" I finally shouted, stressed from the emotional relay.

"Yes, love?" He asked tiredly. I put my hand on his shoulder, speaking softly.

"That's wildly out of proportion, sweetheart. He's in a hospital. With a brain tumor. I doubt he'll be released any time soon, let alone properly functioning! By the time he actually has enough sense in him to see his cousin, we may not even work at the firm!"

Edward spoke no reply, but his expression was harsh, and cold. His body was visibly tense, and I ran my thumb over his hand, in effort to relax the tension. He looked at me, eyes tight.

"If he hurt you, Katie," he began slowly, cautiously. "How could I begin to live with myself?"

"You would find a way." I murmured, running my hand up and down his crisp white sleeve. He took a deep breath, his emerald green eyes meeting mine.

"Maybe on the external." He replied absentmindedly, as though we spoke of this type of thing every day.

"You need to stop worrying, love." I said gently. "Let's worry when it's actually happening, shall we?" Edward chuckled without humor.

I gave him a look, my eyes smoldering. "Please, Edward?" I asked again. "Please?" I got on top of his lap, stroking his shoulders carefully.

He sighed, his eyes narrowing. "You little vixen." He muttered, the corners of his mouth upturned just slightly. I ran my hands through his perfectly unkept hair, kissing him gently.

"Thank you." He took a strand of my hair, wrapping it around his finger. I giggled, being brought back to my sophomore year of high school. Our last year together in high school was filled with unforgettable memories; things of his character never did change from when he was eighteen.

I snuggled into his shoulders, smiling. He always found it funny that my 5'7 frame could fit, curled up on top of his stomach. Edward leaned back, massaging my shoulders, and I sighed contently.

"Mr. Cullen," A rather supposedly "sultry" voice broke the moment. I turned my head and was greeted with the smug face of Lucinda.

"Lucinda, as you can see, I'm currently preoccupied. Would you mind holding that thought for a few minutes?"

"Mr. Cullen, you may revisit this matter with your wife at home, where this behavior truly belongs." Lucinda replied bitterly. Edward's eyes narrowed, as his grip on me tightened protectively.

"Excuse me, Lucinda, but please remember your place and refrain from using that tone with me in the future. Are we clear?"

"Crystal." She snapped, leaving us in piece... Almost. The sounds of an old jazz record was playing from what sounded like it was on the left.

"Harvey." We said in unison, laughing. Edward stopped first, straightening up. I moved to the side, allowing him to get up from behind me.

"What would you like me to overthrow him with, my love?" I chuckled heartily, knowing Edward's annoyance with Harvey's music. It wasn't the music itself; it was the repetitiveness. There was a certain record he tended to play when he was stressed- or, in this case, working on a pro-bono case.

"Something from the eighties. Stevie Nicks or Fiona Apple." I didn't know much about Harvey Specter, but I knew enough to know that the music during that era made him want to murder.

Fifteen seconds after the music had been turned on, we heard the cursing of "God _dammit_, Cullen!" Coming from the other side of the hall. I snickered quietly.

"Oh, the son of a bitch had it coming." Edward muttered, buttoning the third button on his suit. I rested my hand on his tall shoulder, staring off into the distance. "Katherine?" Edward's voice broke me out of my reverie.

"What?"

"I was asking you if you'd like to go out to dinner with me tonight. You didn't eat much for breakfast, and you completely skipped lunch, and I know you-"

I laughed, shaking my head. "Are you suggesting that I'm becoming anorexic?"

"Not suggesting, simply implying."

"And this is what got you into law school?" Edward stared at me, his eyes boring into mine. "Oh, and that's right, your glorious charm, which, quote on quote, 'never ceases to fail you.'"

"It's how I got you to marry me, isn't it?"

"No, I'm pretty sure I was drunk at the time." Edward scoffed. "Maybe I was high. You probably spiked my drink. And when I was coherent, I was too embarrassed to back out."

"Please, you're intoxicated by my very presence." My mouth formed a perfect "o", and my eyes narrowed into little slits.

"I do not!" I exclaimed. He simply just stood there, giving me his famous incredulous look. "Okay, it's possible that it happens occasionally." He just stared at me, as if waiting for a small child to admit they were up past 7:30 at night. "Oh, fine. You win."

His smile was glorious. "I'm so glad I did." I couldn't hold my grin back. "And now, Mrs. Cullen," he put his arm out for me, "Where would you like to go this evening?" As I hooked my arm into his, I smiled mischievously.

"Surprise me." I murmured.

-xox-

"Love? Are you almost done?" I heard the sound of my gold ring clanging against the Carrera marble. I fought the urge to sigh. We had two bathrooms, but I swear, he acted like we only had one.

"Edward, just a few more seconds, please. I'll be finished in a moment, sweetheart." I heard him mutter a few words under his breath. "I heard that!" I said just loud enough for him to hear."

Suddenly the door opened, and his head peeked in. "No you didn't." He said incredulously. I scoffed, annoyed that he had caught me on my bluff.

"You don't know that. I have superhuman hearing. I could be Superwoman. Or maybe Batwoman. Something supernatural would be fun, too- maybe I'm a vampire."

"Really, now, Countess Dracula? What was I saying, then?"

"You were... Cursing under your breath."

"Wrong."

"Going off on a mini-rant of your hatred of me?"

"Wrong again."

I waltzed over to the bed. "How much you wish I was out of the bedroom?"

"Close, but you're still wrong." I muttered an obscenity, and snuggled up next to him on the bed.

"In fact, I was actually declaring my love for you." I snorted, unladylike.

"You are so bluffing right now, you know that? You are a horrible liar."

"True," He kissed my nose, "And untrue. Besides, are you going to call me out on it?"

"Nope," I admitted sleepily. "I'll do it in the morning."

"Okay, my love. Sleep, it's been a long day." I yawned, stretching out like a cat. He cradled me to his chest, creating a protective cage around my stomach.

"I love you," I replied as I succumbed into the darkness.

But before I fell asleep, I heard a soft, "As I love you." Follow my short declaration.

-xox-


End file.
